Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Mar 27/00) - Looking at a family's behaviour is an important part of building healthy relationships.

So says the facilitator of a nine-part Choice Theory workshop who was in Iqaluit last week to oversee part seven of the 18-month project.

"The idea is not to look at what people don't want, but to think about what it is they want from relationships, whether it be mother-daughter, wife-husband, son-mother and so on," said Rick Puteran, who is associated with the William Glasser Institute in Manitoba.

"A critical part of the training is having the people try the theories on themselves first, because if it doesn't work on them, why would you try it on someone else?"

Puteran has been working with groups and communities for almost 30 years and says the Choice Theory model works in Nunavut because it allows people to immediately try the concepts personally and professionally and it has a cultural fit.

"It isn't about telling someone this will work in their community, it's about seeing if it fits with their community and then having them come back with feedback and what they would like to see," he said.

In September, when the ninth part of the series of workshops is complete, each of the 10 participants from communities outside of Iqaluit, will be certified in the Choice Theory Approach.

Beverly Ilauq is one of the participants and the co-ordinator of the Ilisaqsivik Society in Clyde River.

The society is a family resource centre in the community that helps family members relate to each other and work at repairing relationships.

"Each time I complete a part of the workshops, I return to Clyde with something more for the people who come to me," said Ilauq.

"Every bit of information is useful in dealing with individuals and families."

As the co-ordinator of a family resource centre, Ilauq says she and her co-workers get together to learn how to help the people that come to them.

"As an organization, this theory helps us to survive the ups and downs that we all go through and our clients go through and connect with them on a heart-to-heart level."

And because the course is taught over an 18-month period, it gives each trainee the opportunity to return to their working environment, implement some of the ideas and theories and return to the group two months later with feedback and more ideas.

Previous sessions have included giving instruction on working with groups, dealing with trauma and self-care.